I shouldered the duffel bag and stared up at the house before me that looked familiar but didn’t feel like home. Gray skies threatened rain on the horizon and it gave the whole place an ominous feel. I felt tired, last night’s activities and lack of sleep made me wish I’d been able to sleep on the plane. But I was too jacked, too worried about the visit. I didn’t know how they were going to react to seeing me and everything that had happened since I’d left or if they were going to see me at all.

“I don’t know how you rope me into this kind of shit, son.”

I looked over at Parsons and gave him a grin. “You love it. Admit it, you missed me.”

He gave me the middle finger and shook his head. “You better be grateful I’m not charging a fee for taxiing you around out here in the middle of nowhere.”

“Thanks for doing this,” I added.

He nodded tightly and walked back to the car. “You better cut them some slack, too, or I’ll tan your hide myself.”

“Good to see you, too, Parsons,” I called as he climbed back into the car and drove away. I didn’t really want to call my dad to pick me up at the airport and because Parsons was the only other person who knew the address of my parent’s place, I had called him again. This time, I told him all about my life in Jupiter on the ride over, even mentioning Cara a time or two.

It had been extremely difficult to leave her bed this morning, wanting to stay under the covers with her for a little bit longer but knew I couldn’t miss my flight. So I had pressed a light kiss on her bare shoulder and snuck out as the sun was beginning to rise, making a stop at my apartment to gather my shit before hopping on the flight. Now I was here and I really didn’t know what I was going to say.

The front door opened and my dad stepped out, surprise registering on his face before he started down the stairs, clearing his throat. “Why are you here? I can’t believe you actually came.”

“Hi, dad,” I said, shifting my stance as he approached me. “I guess you know about what happened?”

He gave me a look before finally shaking his head. “Yeah, Parsons called us. Are you all right?”

I nodded. While the encounter had been harsh, a few bruises and some soreness had been all that I’d come away with. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

He turned and started back up the stairs, motioning with his hand. “Well come on then. No need to stand outside. I was going to go to the store, but that can wait now. Your mom is inside.”

The house still smelled like apple pie even after all of these years. He led me into the living room, where mom was lounging on the couch, the droll of the TV in the background.

“Look who’s come home,” my dad said. She looked up and I saw the surprise, then the tears in her eyes as she rose from the couch and pulled me into her arms. She felt frail as I held her and I swallowed hard against the sudden rush of tears that clogged my throat. “Hi, mom,” I forced out.

“Oh my baby,” she cooed, her tears soaking the front of my shirt. “Parsons told us what happened! Are you sure you are okay?”

I nodded and pulled back. “I’m fine. Everything is fine.”

She gave me the motherly once over, satisfaction on her face as she saw I wasn’t wearing a sling or had anything broken. “He said there was a girl involved as well. Is she all right?”

I thought about Cara’s bruise on her face and nodded tightly. She was dealing. “She’s tough, just bruised.”

Mom’s eyes narrowed slightly, smiling a little and she gave me a look. “So who is she?”

“Justine, let the boy sit first,” my dad interrupted with a sigh. “Before you start prying into his personal life.”

“Ignore him. Come tell me. Sit,” my mom said as she led me to the couch. “Do you want anything to drink or eat? I’m cooking pot roast tonight.”

I thought about how much I missed my mom’s cooking and shook my head. “I’m good until later.”

She nodded and I leaned back on the couch, feeling like a teen-ager all over again. Except they kind of felt like strangers. I shouldn’t have been gone so long. “So, who is she?”

“She’s a marriage therapist,” I said, a smile curving on my lips. “Cara is her name. We’ve been, uh, dating for a few weeks.”

“Ooh, a marriage therapist,” she said, her eyes lighting up with interest. “Well you won’t have to worry about your relationship or marriage then.”

“Justine, for Christ’s sake,” my dad groaned. “They have only been together a few weeks. I’m sure he’s not thinking about marriage.”

I grinned. I had done a lot of thinking on the plane ride over about us. While marriage was a bit farfetched, I knew I wanted her to move in when I got back or vice versa. We had something special.

“Why are you here, son?” my dad asked softly, his eyes on me.

I swallowed and wiped my palms on my jeans, feeling suddenly nervous. I wasn’t here to talk about my life. “I wanted to apologize for everything I have done. I wanted to have a life, to try and forget what had happened, but I wasn’t fair to you both. I should have never left.”

“Oh, Marcus,” my mom sighed, patting my knee affectionately.

“Luke, please.”

She signed again then nodded. “Luke, your father and I have talked about this numerous times since it happened and we weren’t really fair to you, either. We upended your life, you were still a kid so we had no choice, but you were also practically an adult, too. We didn’t expect how much everything would change for you. That was wrong on our part, wasn’t it, Harold?”

“Um yeah,” my dad added, looking somewhat sheepish. “I thought I was protecting you and your mom. I didn’t think about how you would feel about leaving everything you knew.”

“I was wrong, too,” I also added, embarrassed that they were attempting to shoulder the blame of a stupid, hot-headed teen-ager. “I made y’all worry for no reason.”

“Well,” my dad said, slapping his own knee. “We won’t have to worry about it for long. The trial is finally happening and the district attorney told me they have a solid case. Everything will be over with and then we all will be able to move on with our lives.”

I stared at him, trying to picture what that was going to be like for all of us. I had been on my own for so long that the witness protection thing hadn’t bothered me in years, but for my parents, it had to be a new lease on life. “What is your plan?” I asked.

“We were kind of thinking about staying here,” my mom said slowly. “I’ve got to finish my treatments and your dad and I have grown pretty attached to this house. Parsons said he thinks he can make that happen for a while. Why? Are you thinking about coming home?”

I thought about Cara and what we had started together. I thought about the Little League team that I wanted to keep coaching. And maybe after all of this was over with and we were truly free to do whatever the hell we wanted to do, I could see if I still had what it takes, and try out for a minor-league team. That thought made me extremely pumped for the future. With Cara by my side, hell I could do anything. But leave Florida? No, I didn’t want to do that.

“I don’t think so,” I said finally, giving her a soft smile. “I have my own life in Florida now.”

“And a woman,” my dad added gruffly. I grinned then.

“Yeah, Cara, too, if she will have me after everything I’ve put her through.”

“Well you should bring her up here,” my mom decided, patting my knee. “So we can meet her. Or one day when I’m well enough we can come see you.”

“And ask her a ton of questions, the poor girl,” my dad grumbled. “Come on, can we eat now? I’m hungry.”

My mom shot him a look but she got off of the couch anyway, patting my cheek before exiting the room.

I glanced over at my dad and swallowed hard. “Listen, dad, I’m sorry.”

He waved his hand, cutting off my apology. “Water under the bridge. I’m just happy you’re here now and you’re safe. That’s all that matters.”

I sat back and looked up at the ceiling. He was right. We had made our peace and soon we were all going to be free of the weight that had crippled our lives for years. I would be able to return home feeling more like my old self and finally figure out this thing between me and Cara before I decided what the rest of my life was going to be like. I just hoped that when I decided, Cara was going to be right there with me.